The present invention concerns a vacuum vapour deposition apparatus for coating one side of optical substrates such as plastic spectacle lenses which are distributed on support means which rotate in an evacuable container above at least one vapour source.
Through DE-OS 23 37 204 by the same applicant, a method for the vapour deposition in vacuo of at least one surface layer onto one side of an optical support, in particular a lens, is known, by which after the coating of a specified number of such substrates in the same vacuum cycle, these substrates are moved out of the plane in which the supports are conducted past the vapour source, and subsequently at least once more an equal number of other substrates is conducted into this plane in order to conduct these substrates likewise in succession past the vapour source and to coat the one side thereof in the same vacuum cycle.
In order to carry out this method, which is gaining increasingly in significance, an apparatus is customary which comprises a plurality of stations for the detachable mounting of substrates, these stations being mounted on the periphery of a rotating table which can be placed under vacuum, as well as with at least one vapour source which is movable relative to the stations. In this case, each station is equipped with a pivotable device onto which holders are mounted for the detachable attachment of in each case two substrates, between which a screening extends.
An arrangement with such conventional support plates is not only complicated and expensive, but is also of insufficient capacity.
On the other hand, however, there is also an apparatus known that is equipped with so-called cups as support means. They extend dome-like and rotatable in the upper portion of the container and have a plurality of mounting openings (for example 36) for receipt of the optical substrates distributed uniformly over the cup-like surface.
Such an arrangement by the same applicant is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,559 and is intended for coating both sides of a substrate without intermediate ventilation of the vacuum apparatus. Apart from the fact that the holding and pivoting means for the lenses are complicated and expensive also in the case of this apparatus, such an arrangement for executing the process in question here is not suitable.